The Naked City Blog

Exploring life in the city – Charlotte – and the greater metro region. Looking at urban design, transportation, growth, the built environment and more.

Mary Newsom is a lifelong journalist and observer of city life in the Charlotte region and beyond, with a focus on urban design, sustainable development, growth and city planning. She is associate director of urban and regional affairs at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. Her blog reflects her views only, not necessarily those of the institute or of UNC Charlotte.
Contact: mnewsom@uncc.edu.

Check out these websites

Also Catch Me On ...

Followers

Monday, May 13, 2013

New city manager, new streetcar plan?

Will a new name, a new tie-in to the county’s overall transit plan,
and a new funding scheme using no property tax money mean a new outcome
that puts an expanded streetcar project into the “yes” column with the
Charlotte City Council? (see my article at PlanCharlotte.org).

(Other news coverage from Erik Spanberg of the Charlotte Business Journal is here, and from the Charlotte Observer's Steve Harrison here. For those of you who don't get the print edition, Harrison's article was splashed in a major way atop the front page.)

Among the many questions yet to be answered:

Changing minds? Will any of the six council members who last year opposed the streetcar change their minds, now that it's being paid for without property taxes and will, presumably, have the blessing of the Metropolitan Transit Commission? Council member Patrick Cannon, who is expected to run for mayor, told me those two things make it easier for him to support the streetcar. Note, however, he did not give an unequivocal "Yes, I'll support it."

Thumb on scale at USDOT? Would having Mayor Anthony Foxx running the U.S. Department of Transportation (he's been nominated but not yet confirmed) increase the chances of the streetcar winning federal transit funding, from either the New Starts or the Small Starts pots of funds?

New name? As new (since April 1) City Manager Ron Carlee told the council Monday night, "The streetcar is not a toy...." By renaming it the CityLynx Gold Line the city hopes to make the point that it's just one part of the larger transit system strategy. Memo to city: The new name is TOO LONG.

Carlee, city staff, and the CEO of the Charlotte Area Transit System,
Carolyn Flowers, teamed to give a presentation Monday night at the
council’s dinner meeting, signaling a new approach to the
controversial streetcar proposal. Last June, the council’s disagreements
over the streetcar helped scuttle a larger proposal for a five-year
capital projects plan.

Carlee
said he thought the streetcar expansion project – adding 2.5 miles to
an already-funded 1.5-mile streetcar “starter” project – would compete
well for federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation.